The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a U.S. government-chartered program that promotes firearms safety training and rifle practice for all qualified U.S. citizens with special emphasis on youth. Any U.S. citizen who is legally not prohibited from owning a firearm may purchase a military surplus rifle from the CMP, provided they are a member of a CMP affiliated club. The CMP operates through a network of affiliated shooting clubs and state associations that covers every state in the U.S. The clubs and associations offer firearms safety training and marksmanship courses as well as the opportunity for continued practice and competition.

The CMP was created by the U.S. Congress as part of the 1903 War Department Appropriations Act. The original purpose was to provide civilians an opportunity to learn and practice marksmanship skills so they would be skilled marksmen if later called on to
serve in the U.S. military. Over the years the emphasis of the program shifted to focus on youth development through marksmanship. From 1916 until 1996 the CMP was administered by the U.S. Army. Title XVI of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104-106, 10 February 1996) created the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice & Firearms Safety (CPRPFS) to take over administration and promotion of the CMP. The CPRPFS is a tax-exempt non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that has been Federally chartered by the U.S. Congress, but is not an agency of the U.S. Government (Title 36, United States Code, Section 40701 et seq). Apart from a donation of surplus .22 and .30 caliber rifles in the Army's inventory to the CMP, the CMP receives no Federal funding.

IMPORTANT: If your State or locality requires you to first obtain a license, permit, or Firearms Owner ID card in order to possess or receive a rifle, you must enclose a photocopy of your license, permit, or card with the application for purchase. Rifle shipments to NY and NJ must be made to a state licensed dealer. You must provide a copy of the dealer’s license with your order form.

As a result of CT Bill 1160 and Bill 13-220 , which revised CT Bill 1160, all CT customers purchasing rifles to be delivered in CT must have the rifle shipped to a CT licensed dealer or must provide us with a copy of their current Type 3 (C&R) FFL license. We can ship directly to a customer s home if they possess a C&R license.

NY, NJ and CT customers who have already mailed their rifle orders to CMP should provide custserve@thecmp.org with dealer information or order cancellation instructions. Information can also be faxed to 256-835-3527 or mailed to CMP Customer Service, (Attn: FFL Order), 1401 Commerce Blvd., Anniston, AL 36207.

Effective 1 Jan 2014, California residents who order rifles from the CMP must provide FFL information (shipping address) for the licensed firearms dealer in CA to whom the rifle will be shipped.
OR
If they want the rifle shipped to their residence, must provide CMP with a copy of the customer's individual C&R license AND a copy of their current CA Certificate of Eligibility.

PLEASE NOTE: In the past several months, the CMP has been overwhelmed with orders for all products. Orders are processed in the sequence they were received. Please allow a minimum of 30-60 days for orders to ship. If you would like to check on your order, please email CUSTSERVE@THECMP.ORG (please include the order number (if known) in the subject line to expedite responses). If you call to check on your order, please expect long delays due to high call volume. Thank you for your support and patience!